Another Lesson I Should Heed

[theodosia]

I guess I have a thing about bureaucratic forms... that I hate filling them out like the dickens. Which I suppose isn't all that unusual, but I will put off to ridiculous lengths filling them out or signing on the dotted line.

Such as, for instance, the form for the insurance company for my poor old stolen car. I got a call late Friday asking me where it had gone, so of course I couldn't do anything about it until today -- I did call yesterday, but their offices were sensibly closed for Columbus Day. So I contented myself with filling out the rest of the boxes I was sure about -- why they needed the date and place of my last inspection, for instance, but I was able to give that to them, since the contents of the glove box that I took out of the car included all the inspection reports.

(And they say I was mad, mad to hang onto them! Bwah-ha-ha.)

I called up, very apologetic, on my lunch hour. "No problem" sayeth the nice guy I somehow lucked into. My car has already been picked up, so no problem, just sign it and send it in, along with the title. I don't even have to hunt up a notary, no need, he says -- that was one of the things that I'd been dreading, because I'm not sure where to find one -- banks, I suppose? Anyway, with that out of the way, all I had left to do was photocopy everything, and walk the two blocks over to the post office near me and send it by certified mail.

Get this -- to another PO Box... at a downtown branch just about a mile from here. I guess I probably didn't have to worry about the form and title reaching them so much. I could have hand-carried it over there if I'd had my act together.

Oh, and for those playing the home game, Lil' Nate's Towing ended up sending me the old license plate in the mail. So I have to get over to the RMV (on another lunch hour) and turn it in, so the car insurance company can turn off my old insurance.

Lesson learned? That yet another task that I find myself dreading turns out to be a tempest in a teapot, hardly worth dreading, taking much less time to do than think about doing.

::kicks self a little::

Comments

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

My credit union has a notary and they don't charge me anything!

[vwbug.livejournal.com]

I hate, hate, HATE forms. I leave them till the very last moment and sometimes later than that. And for someone who's income and health insurance and tuition money come from the government? That's not the smartest way to live :) We've actually had to hire lawyers to fill out paperwork for me, 'cause I just can't do it sometimes.

So, go you for getting it done!

[snacky]

Lesson learned? That yet another task that I find myself dreading turns out to be a tempest in a teapot, hardly worth dreading, taking much less time to do than think about doing.

Heh, this is me. And yet, I still dread it and still put it off.

[veejane.livejournal.com]

The Citizens Bank across the street from Our Workplace has a notary, and she did not charge me for her services the one time I used her. Most public libraries have a notary on staff as well.

I am not a fan of forms, either. And yet, I do my own taxes every year, and sometimes my brother's, too.

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I'll bet your company has several notaries, and if you ask HR they can point you to one. Most big (and even some small) companies have at least one. Our office manager at my last downtown job became a notary public early on because it was useful for her job. Before The Giant Company bought my current company, our charming front-desk receptionist was a notary public, but now our front desk is a security desk with part-time guards.

Insurance companies are totally used to people turning things in late, and needing to be reminded lots of times.

Oh, and you wouldn't have been able to just give the envelope to the other post office--they have very strict regulations about only putting things in boxes that actually come through the postal system.